Reel support and dispensing cart

ABSTRACT

A manually operated wheeled reel support and dispensing cart for supporting multiple reels of material and for dispensing the material from the reels. The cart includes a cart frame having spaced side members, handles for manual cart handling and a top cross brace, with the frame being connected to a support plate and wheel assembly. A plurality of spindle hinge elements, each having a pivot opening, are fixed in spaced relation on one of the frame side members and receive L-shaped removable spindle elements for pivotal opening and closing movement. When open, the spindle elements are supported so that reels can be added or removed. When the spindle elements are closed they secure reels of material to the cart. The cart mechanism has a stop plate and a lock plate fixed to respective frame side members to ensure against inadvertent separation of the spindle elements from the cart and to ensure locking of the spindle elements at their closed positions. The frame is also provided with storage lock plates and spindle storage rings for storing and securing spindles that have been removed from their spindle hinge elements.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No.10/325,876, filed Dec. 19, 2002.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention pertains generally to wire dispensing carts, whichare typically two wheeled manually manipulated carts having the facilityfor support of multiple reels of wire, typically electrical wire, andalso arranged for rotation of the wire storage reels during dispensingof wire therefrom. More particularly, the present invention concerns atwo wheeled manually operated cart having a plurality of removablespindles which are pivotally mounted to move between an open positionfor assembly or removal of wire storage reels and a closed position forsecuring the wire storage reels. More specifically, the cart has thefacility for locking the pivotally mounted spindles in the closedposition and for securely storing the spindles when they are removedfrom pivotal assembly with the cart mechanism.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Various types of wheel mounted wire reel or spool carriers or carts havebeen in extensive use for a number of years. Reels or spools of materialsuch as wire, particularly electrical wire and cable are supported bysuch spool carriers or carts in a manner permitting the cart to betransported to an intended site and permitting the wire of the reels tobe dispensed from the reels as needed. Typically the carts are providedwith spindles on which the wire reels are rotatably mounted so that thewire can be payed out end-wise from the reels.

The spindles may be fixed to the cart structure or may be removable fromthe cart structure and may be retained to the cart mechanism by restingthe ends of the spindles in notches or pockets provided therefor or bytemporarily securing the spindles to the cart structure by means ofcotter pins or latches. In almost every case, the spindles of wheelmounted wire reel or spool carriers or carts are removable from theframe structure of the cart for assembly or disassembly of wire spoolsto or from the spindles. When the spindles are separated from the cartstructure, they frequently become lost or damaged and thus must bereplaced. Obviously, loss of one or more of the spindles of a wire cartcauses the cart to be less than completely operative until the missingspindle has been replaced. It is desirable therefore, to provide a wheelmounted wire reel or spool carriers or cart having spindles that aremoveable between open and closed positions to permit assembly anddisassembly of wire reels, without the risk of one or more of thespindles becoming separated from the cart mechanism and lost or damaged.It is also desirable to provide a wire spool carrier or cart havingspool mounting spindles that can be separated from operative position ona cart and which are securely receivable by a storage mechanism of thecart so that the spindles cannot become inadvertently separated from thecart mechanism when not in operative use or operative position.

Loading of spools to the spindles of wheel mounted wire reel or spoolcarriers or carts or separation of the spools from the spindles is oftena difficult task for workers because both ends of the spindles must besupported as the rather heavy wire reels are assembled or disassembled.Then, after the reels have been assembled to a spindle the spindle,which may be heavy with several wire reels, the heavy and awkward reelsupporting spindle must be assembled to the frame structure of the cartand secured thereto. The use of slots or pockets to receive the ends ofthe removable spindles is beneficial, as compared to securing the endsof the spindles with cotter pins or other locking mounts, but if thecart should fall over then several of the wire supporting spindles canbecome inadvertently separated from the cart. It is desirable thereforeto provide a wheel mounted wire reel or spool carriers or cart having alocking mechanism which positively retains the spindles in operativeposition with the cart mechanism and ensures against inadvertent openingor separation of the spindles, regardless of the condition of the cart.It is also desirable to provide a wheel mounted wire reel or spoolcarrier or cart having a spindle positioning mechanism which permitssecure and stable positioning of pivotally supported spindles to enablea worker to assemble wire reels to the spindles or remove wire reelsfrom the spindles.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is a principle feature of the present invention to provide a novelwheel mounted wire reel or spool carrier or cart having a plurality ofspindles for rotationally supporting a plurality of wire reels and whichis removably pivotally mounted to the cart structure and positionable atan open position for assembly and disassembly of wire reels thereto anda closed and locked position at which each spindle is secured againstinadvertent opening.

It is another feature of the present invention to provide a novel wheelmounted wire reel or spool carrier or cart having a plurality of wirereel support spindles which have a stabilized open position to maintainspindles substantially immovable and thus permit workers to accomplishassembly and disassembly of wire reels in simple and efficient manner,while the spindle is in pivotal assembly with the cart structure.

It is an even further feature of the present invention to provide anovel wheel mounted wire reel or spool carrier or cart having aplurality of wire reel support and dispensing spindles, each of which issecured to the cart structure by a pivotal support so that the spindlesare each mounted for pivotal movement between an open positionpermitting wire reels to be assembled to and removed from the spindlesand a closed and locked position, where the spindles are secured in aposition ensuring against inadvertent opening of the spindles andensuring that wire reels supported thereby are not capable ofinadvertent separation from the spindles.

It is also a feature of the present invention to provide a novel wheelmounted wire reel or spool carrier or cart having a spindle storagecapability to maintain unused and separated spindles in stored assemblywith the cart mechanism to ensure against inadvertent separation andloss thereof.

Briefly, the various objects and features of the present invention areeffectively realized through the provision of a two wheeled manuallyoperated wire reel support and dispensing cart having a frame structurewith handles for manual operation and wheels for movement of the cart tointended work sites. The frame structure of the cart incorporates a pairof generally parallel side members, one of the side members having aplurality spindle hinge pivot mounts fixed at spaced locations along thelength thereof. The shorter ends of L-shaped spindles are releasablysupported by the hinge pivot mounts for pivotal movement of the spindlesfrom an open position, permitting reels of wire to be assembled to orremoved from the spindles, to a closed and locked position where thereels of wire are secured against inadvertent separation from thespindles. The side members are provided, respectively, with a rear stopplate and a rear lock plate, which are fixed to the side members by boltand nut assemblies. The rear stop plate is provided with a plurality ofrecesses through which portions of the spindles extend when the spindlesare in their closed positions. The rear lock plate defines a pluralityof locking receptacles for receiving the free ends of the spindles andeach having a hook-like locking projection for securing the end of arespective spindle against opening movement. At the upper ends of therear stop plate and the rear lock plate are provided spindle storagerings or eyes which are integral, respectively, with the rear stop plateand a rear lock plate. When a spindle or more than one spindle areseparated from the pivot mount therefor, the separated spindle can beinserted through the storage rings or eyes. A storage lock plate, beingpivotally mounted to the rear stop plate and a rear lock plate can thenbe moved to a position locking the spindles within the storage rings ofeyes. This feature prevents separated spindles from becoming lost ordamaged after being separated from pivotal assembly with the spindlehinge pivot mounts.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

So that the manner in which the above recited features, advantages andobjects of the present invention are attained and can be understood indetail, a more particular description of the invention, brieflysummarized above, may be had by reference to the preferred embodimentthereof which is illustrated in the appended drawings, which drawingsare incorporated as a part hereof.

It is to be noted however, that the appended drawings illustrate onlyatypical embodiment of this invention and are therefore not to beconsidered limiting of its scope, for the invention may admit to otherequally effective embodiments.

In the Drawings:

FIG. 1 is an isometric illustration of a manually operated wheel mountedreel support cart embodying the principles of the present invention andrepresenting one of the embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the manually operated wheel mounted reelsupport cart of FIG. 1 and illustrating the various components thereofin detail;

FIG. 3 is an isometric illustration of one of the spindle hinge pivotmounts of FIGS. 1 and 2, illustrating the geometry thereof in detail;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary elevational illustration showing a portion ofthe stop plate of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-3;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary elevational illustration showing a portion ofthe locking plate of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-3;

FIG. 6 is an isometric illustration of a wire support and dispensingcart representing an alternative embodiment of the present invention andhaving primary and secondary frame structures which are pivotallyconnected and permit the cart to be positioned in step-ladder likefashion for stabilized positioning for wire reel orientation and wiredispensing;

FIG. 7 is an exploded isometric illustration of the wire support anddispensing cart of FIG. 6 showing the relationships of the variouscomponents thereof in detail;

FIG. 8 is an isometric illustration of a wire support and dispensingcart representing a further alternative embodiment of the presentinvention and having a spindle retention system requiring the spindlesto be moved in predetermined manner before they can be released forremoval and thereby enhancing spindle retention even when the cart issubjected to rough handling;

FIG. 9 is an exploded isometric illustration of the wire support anddispensing cart of FIG. 8 showing the relationships of the variouscomponents thereof in detail; and

FIG. 10 is a partial elevational view of one of the frame side membersand the spaced spindle lock and slide plates and showing a short spindleretainer section of a spindle being positioned between the plates.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring now to the drawings and first to FIGS. 1-5 a manually operatedwheel mounted reel support cart embodying the principles of the presentinvention is shown generally at 10 and incorporates a cart frame showngenerally at 12 having a pair of frame side members 14 and 16 which aredisposed in substantially parallel relation. Handle members 18 extendfrom the upper ends of the respective frame side members and areprovided with hand grip elements 20, which may be composed of a suitablepolymer material, rubber or any rubber-like material to permit manualhandling of the cart by a worker for moving or positioning the cart. Thegenerally rectangular cart frame 12 is provided with top and bottomcross braces 22 and 24 which are typically welded to the frame sidemembers, but which can be secured to the side members in any othersuitable fashion. The frame side members 14 and 16 and the top andbottom cross braces 22 and 24 are preferably composed of metal tubing ofgenerally rectangular cross-sectional configuration. It should be bornein mind, however, that the use of rectangular tubing is not intended torestrict the spirit and scope of the present invention in any manner andthat tubing of any other cross-sectional configuration may be used todefine the frame structure.

A support plate and wheel assembly shown generally at 26 is mounted tothe lower end of the cart frame 12. The support plate and wheel assemblyis generally formed from flat metal stock with side sections 28 and 30being bent upwardly at 29 and 31 from a central section which defines asupport plate 32. The central section or plate 32 is bent at itsrearmost portion to define an upstanding shoulder 33 which preventsobjects being lifted by the plate or platform 32 from sliding off thecentral section or plate 32 as the plate is tilted during liftingactivity. The side sections 28 and 30 are secured to respective sidemembers 14 and 16 by bolt and nut assemblies or by any other suitablemeans. For fitting the frame and side members for assembly, the sidemembers 28 and 30 are each provided with generally U-shaped framesupports 34 which are typically fixed to the side members by welding orby any other suitable means of attachment. The U-shaped configuration ofthe frame supports permits the lower ends of the rectangular frame sidemembers 14 and 16 to have reasonably close fitting relation within thecentral opening or recess of the frame supports 34. Further, the fit ofthe lower ends of the frame side members ensures efficient forcetransition between the cart frame 12 and the plate and wheel assembly ofthe cart mechanism.

The upstanding and generally parallel related side sections 28 and 30project upwardly and rearwardly from the support plate 32 and the lowerportion of the cart frame 12 and provide support for an axle tube 36having ends 38 and 40 that are disposed in engagement with insidesurfaces of the side sections 28 and 30. The axle tube is located inlaterally offset relation with and to the rear of the lower portion ofthe cart frame 12 so that wheel assemblies of the cart mechanism arelocated for efficient manual manipulation of the cart. The ends of theaxle tube may be fixed to the inside surfaces of the side sections 28and 30, such as by welding or by any other suitable means of attachment.In the alternative, the ends of the axle tube may simply be maintainedin place between the side sections to maintain proper spacing of theside sections. The side sections 28 and 30 are punched or drilled todefine axle holes 42 which are in registry with the passage through theaxle tube as shown in FIG. 2, through which an axle member 44 extends.Wheel assemblies 46 and 48 are connected to respective ends of the axle44 and are located outboard of the respective side sections 28 and 30 ofthe support plate and wheel assembly 26.

A plurality of spindle hinge elements 50 are mounted in spaced locationalong the length of the frame side member 14 and define pivot or hingesupports for a plurality of spindle elements 52. Each of the spindleelements is of L-shaped configuration having a short pivot section 54and a longer reel support section 56 which are each preferably ofcircular cross-sectional configuration, being composed of circular barstock. The bar stock is bent intermediate its length to form the shortpivot section 54 and the longer reel support section 56. Each of thespindle hinge elements 50 is of the configuration shown in detail in theisometric illustration of FIG. 3 and has a support wall structure 58 forconnection to the frame side member 14 by welding or by any othersuitable means of attachment that fixes the spindle hinge elements 50 tothe frame side member. The spindle hinge elements 50 are of tubularconstruction, typically being formed from rectangular tubular bar stock,and have side walls 58 and 64, a front wall 60 and a rear wall 62. Thewalls are of dimensions defining a generally rectangular internalopening 66 within which the short pivot section 54 of the spindleelements is received in close fitting pivotally rotatable relation. Withthe short pivot sections of the spindles received within the pivotopenings 66, the short pivot sections will be permitted to rotate withinthe pivot openings, assuming that such pivotal movement is not preventedby other structure of the spindle hinge elements or by other structureof the cart mechanism. The front and rear walls 60 and 62 of the spindlehinge elements 50 are machined or otherwise formed to define spindlepositioning recesses 68 and 70, which are preferably of arcuateconfiguration, corresponding to the circular cross-sectional geometry ofthe spindle elements 52. It should be borne in mind however, that thearcuate or curved surfaces of the spindle positioning recesses 68 and 70may be of any other suitable geometry that permits restriction ofspindle rotation at desired spindle positions. To permit loading of aspindle with one or more reels or spools of wire, after having beenunlocked from the cart frame, the spindle is rotated approximately 90°within the central opening or pivot receptacle 66 until the bend of thespindle and a portion of the longer, horizontal reel support section 56of the spindle element 52 are in registry with the arcuate recess 68 ofthe front wall 60 of the spindle hinge element 50. When the arcuaterecess 68 is reached, the spindle will be moved downwardly by gravityinto the arcuate recess. At this point the longer, reel support section56 of the spindle will be projecting forwardly from the cart frame andwill be stabilized against rotational movement by the arcuate recess 68.In this position of the spindle element, reels or spools of wire may beassembled to or removed from the spindle. The spindle will remain atthis forwardly projecting position until it is lifted from the arcuaterecess 68 sufficiently to clear the upper extent of the side wallstructure and rotated back to its closed position.

It is desirable to lock the spindle elements of the cart mechanism attheir closed positions and thus ensure against the loss of any of thewire reels or spools that are supported by any of the spindle elementsfrom the cart mechanism, regardless of the position of the cartmechanism. To accomplish this feature, a stop plate 72 is fixed to theframe side member 14 by bolts or bolt and nut assemblies 74, with thebolts thereof extending through holes in the side member and throughcorresponding holes of the rear stop plate. The stop plate 72, as shownbest in FIG. 2, defines a plurality of generally rectangular recesses 76through which the longer, horizontal sections 56 of the spindle elements52 extend when the spindle elements are positioned at the closed orsubstantially closed positions thereof. The rectangular recesses 76 aredefined in part by stop shoulders 78 that prevent the spindle elements,when closed, from being raised sufficiently that the short pivotalsection thereof can move upwardly and be separated from the internalopening 66 of the spindle hinge element. A rear lock plate 80 is fixedto the frame side member 16 by bolts or bolt and nut assemblies 81 anddefines a plurality of spindle locking recesses 82 which receive thefree ends of the longer reel or spool supporting sections 56 at theclosed positions of the spindle elements 52. The locking recesses 82 aredefined in part by upper stop shoulders 84 which restrict upwardmovement of the longer reel or spool supporting sections 56 when thespindle elements are closed. The locking recesses 82 are also defined inpart by hook-like spindle retainer elements 86 of the rear lock plate 80which serve to secure the spindle elements against upward movement whenthe spindles have been moved into bottom recess portions 88 of thelocking recesses 82. The hook-like elements 86 also define angulatedouter guide edge portions 89 which serve to guide the free ends of thespindle elements into the locking recesses 82 as the spindle elementsare pivotally moved to the closed and locked positions thereof.

The shorter pivotal sections 54 of the L-shaped spindle elements 52 aremerely pivotally received by the spindle hinge elements and thus can beeasily removed simply by rotating them from the closed and lockedpositions to positions clear of the stop shoulders 78 of the rear stopplate 72, and then lifting them to disengage the short pivot sections 54from the central passage or receptacle 66 of the respective spindlehinge elements 50. Removal of one or more of the spindle elements inthis fashion will permit larger reels or spools of wire or otherelongate material to be rotatably supported by one or more of thespindle elements. If a spindle element is rotated approximately 90° fromthe closed position to a forwardly projecting position, a portion of thespindle element will be received by the spindle positioning recess 68,thus stabilizing the spindle against further rotational movement. Atthis forwardly or laterally projecting stabilized position reels orspools may be assembled to and removed from the spindle, withoutnecessitating manual spindle positioning control. Thus, a worker caneasily add or remove spools or reels of wire or other material withouthaving to manually stabilize spindle movement. To then pivot the spindlefrom this forwardly projecting stabilized position, it is necessary tolift the spindle slightly so that the spindle is moved clear of thepositioning recess. To then move the spindle to its closed position, thespindle is simply rotated until the free end of the longer spindlesection 56 moves into its respective locking recess 82.

When the spindle elements are removed from the cart mechanism they canbecome lost or, if they are left lying on a floor surface, the removedspindle elements can be damaged by other equipment being used at theconstruction site. It is desirable, therefore, to provide the cartmechanism with a spindle storage facility to enable spindle elementsthat have been removed from the spindle hinge elements to be maintainedin protected storage on the cart mechanism. One suitable means foraccomplishing this desired feature is accomplished by spindle storagerings 90 and 92 which are formed integrally with the upper end portionsof the rear stop plate 72 and the rear lock plate 80. Since the rearstop plate 72 and the rear lock plate 80 are fixed to the inner surfacesof the frame side members 14 and 16, the plates 72 and 80 and thus thespindle storage rings 90 and 92 are spaced less than the length of thereel support sections 56 of the spindle members 52. Thus, the reelsupport sections 56 of the spindle members are stored by locating themwithin the openings of the spindle storage rings 90 and 92. To securethe stored spindle members within the spindle storage rings a pair ofstorage lock plates 94 and 96 are secured to the upper outer portions ofthe frame side members 14 and 16 by bolts 98. The storage lock plates 94and 96 each define rectangular slots 100 which receive end portions ofthe upper cross brace 22 therein when the storage lock plates arepositioned as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The storage lock plates 94 and 96also each define spindle retention slots 102 that receive the free endsof spindle element being retained within the spindle storage rings andthus assist in retaining the stored spindle elements against substantialmovement during storage thereof as the cart mechanism is manually movedfrom place to place. The spindles are loaded into the spindle storagearea by aligning the short bend with the slot in the locking plate,sliding into storage rings and rotating.

Referring now to FIGS. 6 and 7, an alternative embodiment of themanually operated wire reel or spool handling and dispensing cart isshown generally at 110 and incorporates a primary cart frame structureshown generally at 112 and a secondary cart frame structure showngenerally at 114. The primary cart frame structure is defined by a pairof frame side members 116 and 118 that are disposed in generallyparallel relation and are interconnective respectively with an uppercross brace 120 and a lower cross brace 122. Preferably the upper andlower cross braces are connected to the side members by welding but canbe connected in any other suitable fashion without departing from thespirit and scope of the present invention. The lower cross brace 122 isof tubular construction, being composed of a length of tubing having arectangular cross-sectional configuration. Axle openings 124 are formedthrough the lower ends of the frame side members 116 and 118 and are inregistry with a passage that is defined by the tubular cross brace 122.An axle 126 extends through the axle openings 124 and through thetubular cross brace passage and provides support for a pair of wheelassemblies 128 and 130.

The frame side member 118 is provided with a plurality of spindle hingeelements 132 which are disposed in spaced relation along the length ofthe frame side member. The spindle hinge elements are welded orotherwise fixed to the frame side member 118 and are preferably of theconfiguration and purpose discussed above in connection with FIG. 3. Aplurality of spindle elements 134 are each of L-shaped configuration asdiscussed above in connection with FIGS. 1 and 2 and are pivotablysupported by spindle hinge elements in the manner discussed above. Formanual operation of the wire reel or spool support and dispensing cart110, handle elements 136 are welded or otherwise fixed to the primaryframe structure 112 and are provided with hand grips 138 to enablemanual manipulation of the cart mechanism. A rear stop plate 140 and arear lock plate 142 are each secured to respective frame side members118 and 116 respectively by mounting bolt and nut assemblies 144 and maybe of similar configuration as the rear stop plate 72 and the rear lockplate 80 of FIGS. 1 and 2. The rear stop plate 140 defines a pluralityof generally rectangular recesses 146, being similar in geometry andpurpose as compared with the recess 76 of the stop plate 72 of FIG. 4.The rear stop plate 140 also defines a spindle storage ring 148 which isintegral with its upper end and which provides for storage of spindlesthat have been removed from their respective spindle hinge elements asdiscussed above. The rear lock plate 142 defines a plurality of lockingrecesses 150 which are preferably of the configuration and purpose thatis shown in detail in FIG. 5. The rear stop plate 140 and the rear lockplate 142 are each fixed to internal surfaces of the frame side members116 and 118 so that the spacing of the plates 140 and 142 is less thanthe horizontal length of the spindle elements 134. The rear stop plate140 permit pivotal rotation of the respective spindle elements 134between open and closed positions thereof, but permit raising of thespindle elements to disengage them from the respective spindle hingeelements 132 only when the spindle elements have been pivotedsufficiently to clear the upper stop shoulders of the respective spindlerecesses 146. The rear lock plate 142 also defines a spindle supportring 152 at its upper end so that spindle elements being stored arereceived by both of the spindle storage rings 148 and 152.

A pair of lock plates 154 and 156 are secured to the respective frameside members 116 and 118 by bolts 158 and function in the same manner aslock plates 94 and 96 of FIG. 2. The lock plates 154 and 156 are eachprovided with rectangular recesses 160 to receive end portions of therectangular upper cross brace 120 at the closed positions of the lockplates. The lock plates are also provided with spindle recesses 162 toreceive at least a portion of one of the spindles during storage of thespindles in the locking rings to thus minimize movement of the storedspindles as the wheeled storage and dispensing cart is utilized.

To provide for additional storage of reels or spools of wire and otherelongate material a pair of stand-off elements 164 and 166 are ofgenerally U-shaped configuration, with respective ends thereof beingfixed to the respective frame side members 116 and 118 as shown in FIGS.6 and 7. The secondary cart frame structure shown generally at 114 ispivotally mounted to the stand off elements 164 and 166. A pair of framehinge plates 163 are welded or otherwise fixed to the standoffs 164 or166 and each have a pivot hole 165, as shown in FIG. 7, having a boltand nut assembly therein for pivotally connecting the upper ends ofsecondary frame side members 168 and 170 to the standoffs. This featurepermits pivotal movement of the secondary frame relative to thestandoffs and thus permits relative pivotal movement of the primary andsecondary frame structure. Thus, the secondary frame structure ispivotally movable relative to the primary frame structure and thus canbe located in angulated relation with the primary frame structure. Thisarrangement permits the primary and secondary frame structures to bepositioned much like the frames of a step ladder, to form a stable wirereel support and to locate the wire reels supported by the spindles topermit the wire to be easily and controllably pulled from the reels.

The secondary frame side members 168 and 170 are also provided with aplurality of spindle hinge elements which may be similar to or identicalwith the spindle hinge elements 132 and which provide pivotal supportfor a plurality of spindle elements 134. A front stop plate 174 and afront lock plate 176 are fixed by bolt and nut assemblies 178 to therespective frame side members 168 and 170 of the secondary framestructure 114. The plates 174 and 176 are fixed to the inner surfaces ofthe respective frame side members 168 and 170 so that the spacing of thefront stop and lock plates is less than the length of the horizontal orlonger sections of the spindles 134. The front lock plate definesspindle recesses 180 which may be identical to the spindle recesses 146of the rear stop plate 140. The rear lock plate 176 defines a pluralityof locking recesses 182 which may be identical to the locking recesses150 of the rear lock plate 142. The primary and secondary frameassemblies 112 and 114 each provide rotation controlling support for aplurality of spindle elements, with each of the spindle elements beingadaptive to retain one or more reels or spools of wire or other elongatematerial.

Referring now to FIGS. 8 and 9 a further alternative embodiment of thepresent invention is shown generally at 190 and includes a cart frameshown generally at 192 which is defined by a pair of generally parallel,spaced frame side members 194 and 196 and a top cross brace 198 which iswelded or otherwise fixed to the upper ends of the frame side members.The frame side members and the top cross brace are preferably composedof tubular stock of rectangular cross-sectional configuration. A supportplate and wheel assembly shown generally at 200 includes a support plate202 having side sections 204 and 206 extending upwardly and rearwardlytherefrom. Preferably, the side sections 204 and 206 are integral withthe support plate 202, being formed from a flat sheet of plate stockthat is bent at 208 and 210 so that the support plate 202 is ofgenerally rectangular configuration and the side sections 204 and 206are essentially of triangular configuration and extend upwardly andrearwardly from the support plate. The rear portion of the support plateis bent upwardly to define a retainer flange 203 that restrains objectsfrom sliding off of the rear portion of the support plate when the cartis tilted on its wheel assemblies for movement. A pair of frame supportelements 212 are welded or otherwise fixed to the interior surfaces ofthe side sections 204 and 206 and define a generally rectangular recesswithin which the lower ends of the frame and side members 194 and 196are received. Bolt and nut assemblies 214 extend through connectionapertures in the frame side members and side sections 204 and 206 of thesupport plate and wheel assembly 200 and thus secure the cart frame tothe support plate and wheel assembly. Although bolted connection ofthese assemblies is preferred, it should be borne in mind that theseassemblies may be interconnected by welding or by any other suitablemeans of connection.

An axle tube 216, also composed of generally rectangular tubular stockis mounted between rearwardly projecting portions of the side sections204 and 206. Axle openings 218 are defined in the side sections and inregistry with the central passage of the axle tube 216. An axle member220 extends through the axle tube and axle openings 218 and providessupport for a pair of wheel assemblies 222 and 224. The upward andrearward projection of the side sections 204 and 206 locates the axletube and thus the axle and wheel assemblies rearwardly of the generallyrectangular cart frame 192 and permits the support plate 202 to rest ona floor surface when the cart frame is oriented substantiallyvertically.

A pair of spindle lock plates 226 and 228 are mounted in fixed relationto outside edge surfaces of respective frame side members 194 and 196 bybolt and nut assemblies 230 so that the spindle lock plates are disposedin fixed relation with respect to the frame side members. The spindlelock plates define a plurality of angulated elongate slots 232 that openforwardly and are angulated upwardly as is evident from FIG. 9. Theseforwardly opening angulated slots are of a dimension for receivingportions of one of a plurality of spindle elements 234. The spindleelements 234 have an elongate reel support section 235 and a shortspindle positioning and retainer section 237 being oriented in angularrelation with the reel support section. If desired, the spindle elements52 shown in FIG. 1 and the spindle elements 234 may be substantiallyidentical, but preferably the spindles 234 are composed of largerdiameter material of greater load supporting capacity. In the case ofthe FIG. 8 embodiment of the present invention, however, the spindleelements are not supported by the cart frame structure 192 for pivotalmovement, but yet are releasably supported by the frame structure forremoval therefrom as desired.

A pair of spindle slide plates 236 and 238 are also mounted in fixedrelation to the inside edges of the frame side members 194 and 196 bythe bolt and nut assemblies 230, by welding or by any other means. Thespindle slide plates 236 and 238 define a plurality of angulatedopenings 240 that are also adapted to receive portions of the spindleelements 234. With the stop plates and spindle slide plates fixedrespectively to the inner and outer walls of the rectangular frame sidemembers 194 and 196 a spindle retention channel 231, of greater widththan the cross-sectional width of the short spindle retainer section 237is defined between each of the stop plates and each of the spindle slideplates as shown in the fragmentary elevational view of FIG. 10. Theshort spindle retainer sections 237 of the spindle elements 234 arereceived within this spindle retention channel so that linear movementof the spindle is restricted by the stop plates and spindle slide platesto assist in preventing the spindles from being inadvertently separatedfrom the cart frame structure as the cart is subjected to jarring andvibration during its movement along uneven surfaces, up and down stairsor when the cart may fall over due to inattention by the user personnel.As is evident from FIG. 10, for the spindle element to be released fromits interlocked relationship with the cart frame structure it must berotated to orient the short pivotal section in aligned registry with theinclined forwardly opening slot 232. The spindle element must be raisedand then be moved laterally while remaining horizontally oriented, suchthat the spindle element is caused to slide along the respectiveinclined or angulated slots 232 and openings 240 of the lock plates 226and 228 and the spindle slide plates 236 and 238 to position the spindleelement for endwise or linear removal from the cart frame structure. Thespindle to be assembled or removed must be positioned so that the shortspindle retainer section 237 will pass through the angulated slots andopenings of the plates. The spindle must then be moved linearly toextract its reel support section through the aligned openings. Since itis highly unlikely that the spindles will be moved or positioned in thismanner even when the cart is subjected to rough handling, though thespindles are not positively locked in place, they will remain ininterlocked assembly with the cart frame structure essentially as shownin FIG. 10. To remove a spindle element from the cart frame structure,the user of the cart will grasp the spindle and first rotate it to alignthe short pivotal section with the inclined forwardly opening slot andinclined opening. Thereafter, the user will move the spindle upwardlyand forwardly, sliding it along the inclined slots and openings of thelock and slide plates while maintaining its substantially horizontalorientation. After this has been done, the user will move the spindlelinearly to withdraw the longer reel support section from the alignedslots and holes of the stop and lock plates. Thus, it is not necessaryto employ any special tools for assembly or disassembly of the spindlesto or from the cart.

For manual handling of the reel support and dispensing cart 190 and forcontrolled manipulation of the spindle slide plates 236 and 238 a pairof elongate handle arm supports 242 and 244 are fixed by bolt and nutassemblies 246 to the side sections 204 and 206 of the support plate andwheel assembly 200, the bolts extending through connection openings 248.Upper, angulated ends of the elongate handle arm supports 242 and 244are welded or otherwise fixed to respective handle members 250 and 252that are each provided with hand-grip elements 254 and 256. Each of thehandle arms defines connection apertures 258 for connection thereof tothe spindle lock plates at connection opening 260.

In view of the foregoing it is evident that the present invention is onewell adapted to attain all of the objects and features hereinabove setforth, together with other objects and features which are inherent inthe apparatus disclosed herein.

As will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, the presentinvention may easily be produced in other specific forms withoutdeparting from its spirit or essential characteristics. The presentembodiment is, therefore, to be considered as merely illustrative andnot restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by theclaims rather than the foregoing description, and all changes which comewithin the meaning and range of equivalence of the claims are thereforeintended to be embraced therein.

1. A manually operated wheeled reel support and dispensing cart forsupporting multiple reels of material and for dispensing the materialfrom the reels, comprising: a cart frame having handles and wheels formanual movement thereof and having spaced first and second frame sidemembers; first and second spindle lock members, said first spindle lockmember being connected to said first frame side member and said secondspindle lock member being connected to said second frame side member,each of said spindle lock members defining a plurality of spindle slots;first and second spindle slide members, said first spindle slide memberbeing connected to said first frame side member and said second spindleslide member being connected to said second frame side member, saidspindle slide members being disposed in spaced relation with saidspindle lock members and defining a spindle retention channeltherebetween, each of said spindle slide members defining a plurality ofspindle openings having at least a portion thereof in spindle receivingregistry with a portion of a spindle slot; and a plurality of removablespindle elements each having an elongate substantially straight reelsupport section and a spindle retainer section oriented in angularrelation with said reel support section, said spindle retainer sectionof each of said removable spindle elements being received within saidspindle retention channel and retaining said spindle elements againstinadvertent separation from said cart frame.
 2. The manually operatedwheeled reel support and dispensing cart of claim 1, further comprising:said spindle slots of said spindle lock members being elongate and openended and having inclined orientation when said cart frame is orientedsubstantially upright; said spindle openings of said spindle slidemembers being of elongate configuration and having inclined orientationwhen said cart frame is oriented substantially upright; and said spindleelements being positioned for removal by aligning said spindle retainersection with said inclined spindle slots.
 3. The manually operatedwheeled reel support and dispensing cart of claim 2, further comprising:each said spindle element being assembled to and removable from saidcart frame by orienting said spindle retainer section in registry withan aligned pair of said slots of said spindle lock members andcorresponding said openings of said spindle slide members and by movingsaid reel support section laterally, followed by linear movement to movesaid spindle retainer section through one said spindle slot of one saidspindle lock member.
 4. The manually operated wheeled reel support anddispensing cart of claim 1, further comprising: said cart frame defininga forward portion facing opposite said handles and said frame sidemembers defining inside surfaces facing one another and outside surfacesfacing away from one another; said first spindle lock member positionedadjacent said outside surface of said first frame side member and saidsecond spindle lock member positioned adjacent said outside surface ofsaid second frame side member, said plurality of spindle slots in saidspindle lock members being forwardly opening slots; and said firstspindle slide member positioned adjacent said inside surface of saidfirst frame side member and said second spindle slide member positionedadjacent said inside surface of said second frame side member, saidplurality of spindle openings in said spindle slide members being closedslots disposed in registry with said forwardly opening slots, whereinsaid plurality of spindle elements each being removably received by saidforwardly opening slots and said closed slots, with said spindleretainer sections thereof being removably received by said spindleretention channel.
 5. The manually operated wheeled reel support anddispensing cart of claim 4, further comprising: said forwardly facingslots and said closed slots being oriented in angulated relation withsaid frame side members and being oriented such that with said frameside members oriented substantially vertically and said substantiallystraight reel support sections of said spindle elements orientedsubstantially horizontally, said plurality of spindle elements must bemoved upwardly and forwardly to permit removal thereof, thus minimizingthe possibility of inadvertent spindle element release from said cartframe.
 6. The manually operated wheeled reel support and dispensing cartof claim 1, further comprising: each of said spindle slide membersdefining spindle storage openings receiving said substantially straightreel support sections of a plurality of said spindle elements for thepurpose of storage when not being used for support of reels; each ofsaid spindle lock members defining a spindle storage recess being inregistry with a portion of said spindle storage openings to permitinsertion and removal of said spindle elements with respect to saidspindle storage openings; and said spaced relation of said spindle lockmembers and said spindle slide members defining a storage receptacle forreceiving said spindle retainer section of said spindle elements presentwithin said spindle storage openings.
 7. The manually operated wheeledreel support and dispensing cart of claim 1, further comprising: saidcart frame having a support plate and frame side sections extending fromsaid support plate and being disposed in substantially parallelrelation, said frame side sections projecting rearwardly of said supportplate and defining axle openings, said wheels being attached to an axlereceived by said axle openings with said axle and said wheels beinglocated substantially rearwardly of said support plate, said frame sidemembers having lower ends being supported by said frame side sections;and a pair of handle arm supports having lower ends being connected tosaid frame side members and upper ends being connected to said handles.8. The manually operated wheeled reel support and dispensing cart ofclaim 7, further comprising: a pair of U-shaped frame support elementsbeing fixed to said frame side sections and defining pockets receivingsaid lower ends of said frame side members in force transmittingrelation with said frame side sections.
 9. A reel support and dispensingcart for supporting multiple reels of material and for dispensing thematerial from the reels, comprising: a cart frame having a handle andwheels for manual movement thereof and having spaced first and secondframe side members; a spindle lock member attached to said first frameside member, said spindle lock member having a plurality of spindleslots; first and second spindle slide members, said first spindle slidemember attached to said first frame side member and being disposed inspaced relation with said spindle lock member and defining a spindleretention channel therebetween, said second spindle slide memberattached to said second frame side member, each of said spindle slidemembers having a plurality of spindle openings having at least a portionthereof in spindle receiving registry with a portion of a spindle slot;and a plurality of spindle elements each having an elongate reel supportsection and a spindle retainer section oriented in angular relation withsaid reel support section, said spindle retainer section of each saidspindle element being received within said spindle retention channel andretaining said spindle element against inadvertent separation from saidcart frame.
 10. The reel support and dispensing cart of claim 9, furthercomprising: said spindle slots of said spindle lock member being openended and having inclined orientation when said cart frame is orientedsubstantially upright; and said spindle openings of said first andsecond spindle slide members being of elongate configuration and havinginclined orientation when said cart frame is oriented substantiallyupright, wherein a said spindle element is positioned for removal byaligning said spindle retainer section with the adjacent said inclinedspindle slot.
 11. The reel support and dispensing cart of claim 10,further comprising: each said spindle element being removably assembledto said cart frame by orienting said spindle retainer section inregistry with one said slot of said spindle lock member andcorresponding said openings of said first and second spindle slidemembers and by moving said reel support section laterally, followed bylinear movement to move said spindle retainer section through one saidslot of said spindle lock member.
 12. The reel support and dispensingcart of claim 9, further comprising: said cart frame defining a forwardportion facing opposite said handle and said first and second frame sidemembers defining inside surfaces facing one another and outside surfacesfacing away from one another; said spindle lock member being attached tosaid outside surface of said first frame side members, each of saidplurality of spindle slots being forwardly opening slots; and said firstspindle slide member being attached to said inside surface of said firstframe side member, each of said plurality of spindle openings in saidfirst spindle slide member being a closed slot disposed in registry withone said forwardly opening slot of said spindle lock member, whereineach said spindle element is removably received by one said forwardlyopening slot, one said closed slot and one said spindle opening in saidsecond spindle slide member, with said spindle retainer section thereofbeing removably received by said spindle retention channel.
 13. The reelsupport and dispensing cart of claim 12, further comprising: saidforwardly facing slots and said closed slots being oriented in angulatedrelation with said frame side members and being oriented such that withsaid frame side members oriented substantially vertically and saidsubstantially straight reel support sections of said spindle elementsoriented substantially horizontally, said plurality of spindle elementsmust be moved upwardly and forwardly to permit removal thereof, thusminimizing the possibility of inadvertent spindle element release fromsaid cart frame.
 14. The reel support and dispensing cart of claim 9,further comprising: said first and second spindle slide members definingspindle storage openings for receiving said reel support sections of aplurality of said spindle elements for the purpose of storage when notbeing used for support of reels; said spindle lock member defining aspindle storage recess in registry with a portion of said spindlestorage openings to permit insertion and removal of said spindleelements with respect to said spindle storage openings; and said spacedrelation of said spindle lock member and said first spindle slide memberdefining a storage receptacle for receiving said spindle retainersection of said spindle elements present within said spindle storageopenings.
 15. The reel support and dispensing cart of claim 9, furthercomprising: said cart frame having a support plate and side sectionsextending from said support plate and being disposed in substantiallyparallel relation, said side sections projecting rearwardly of saidsupport plate and defining axle openings, said wheels being attached toan axle received by said axle openings with said axle and said wheelsbeing located substantially rearwardly of said support plate, said firstand second frame side members having lower ends being supported by saidside sections.
 16. The reel support and dispensing cart of claim 15,further comprising: a pair of U-shaped frame support elements beingfixed to said side sections and defining pockets receiving said lowerend of said first and second frame side members in force transmittingrelation with said side sections.